When WWE made it official that LA Knight was going to be wrestling Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, it made more than a few fans a bit nervous.

Sure, anything can happen in pro wrestling, but Knight is relatively early in his rise to the top of the WWE Universe, and fans have seen dozens of LA Knights come and go after taking an ugly loss against someone like the “Head of the Table.” Risking his popularity on a match with just a few weeks of build-up is an interesting call to say the least, especially if there isn't a plan to make the challenger look good in what feels like a pretty likely loss.

One such person who doesn't see much of a path to victory at Crown Jewel for the “Megastar” is none other than WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, who noted on Busted Open Radio that he just can't see a title change happening in Saudi Arabia.

“I could not see it happening. I think it would be the most risky decision business-wise I've seen in a long time,” Bully Ray said via SE Scoops. “It's obviously pro-wrestling and sports entertainment, and you never know if somebody gets a bug up their a** or somebody says ‘Screw it! Let's shock the world and change it!' It is what it is, but I cannot see them doing that. They are very calculated right now with the decisions that they are making.”

So, if Knight's chances of winning are slim at best, what good can come out of Crown Jewel for the “Megastar,” other than a free flight back to LAX? Well, in Ray's opinion, Knight can come out of the match elevated, he just needs to turn in one helluva match a la Sami Zayn in Montreal.

“LA Knight comes out of this match with Roman Reigns an elevated guy; more of a made guy with a h*ll of a showing. And I think this match with Roman in front of however many, 50, 60, 70,000 people over there is going to be a massive test for him. How does he hang in the ring? This is a little bit more than a television match. This is a legit pay-per-view match. I think he has a great opportunity to succeed with Roman's style,” Bully Ray noted.

“Roman is going to work a very solid match that is very easy to work. But LA Knight's got to go out there and shine. This is a classic case of go over and get over. LA Knight's number one priority for Saudi is to get over as much as he can in spite of Roman going over on that night.”

Can WWE thread the needle between keeping Reigns unbeaten and keeping the LA Knight hype train rolling into the future? Maybe yes, maybe no, but after noting that he wants to establish himself as one of the best performers in WWE, this is about the biggest opportunity one could ask for.

Article Continues Below

LA Knight has a message for Roman Reigns ahead of Crown Jewel.

While Bully Ray may serve as a vocal representation of a large segment of the WWE Universe that believes that Roman Reigns will retain his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel, in professional wrestling, sometimes all it takes is one bad move for plans to change on the spot, as fans saw last month when Rey Fenix ended Jon Moxley's International Championship run in AEW due to injury.

Sitting down for an interview with Josh Martinez on the Superstar Crossover podcast, LA Knight noted that, while he can't guarantee he'll secure a win at Crown Jewel, he's going to take a piece of the “Tribal Chief” either way.

“The mindset is just living up to everything that I have purported to be,” LA Knight said via Fightful. “The mindset is living up to everything that I have led the world to believe that I am for good or for worse. So for me, it's going into Saudi Arabia, and whether I come out with that title or not, taking a piece of Roman Reigns with me in the sense that people are going to remember this. It's going to change things. It's going to be clear that this revolution or movement or whatever you want to call it — I think we're beyond the question of whether this is a flash in the pan or not. I think a flash in the pan wouldn't have lasted this long at this point or gotten this hot. So for me, it's just kind of to go in there, do my thing, and keep doing me. As vague as that might sound, that's the biggest truth I can give you.”

Is it a good idea for Paul “Triple H” Levesque to run Knight into Reigns this early into his white-hot run to the top of the WWE Universe? Debatable; on one hand, giving Knight the United States belt may be a safer bet than allowing him to lose to Reigns in the main event of a Premium Live Event. Still, if Knight is as popular as perception appears, it'll be incredibly interesting to see how he could weather such a loss and what it could set up for the future. Sami Zayn bounced back from a loss at the Elimination Chamber and rose to even greater heights earlier this year; maybe the same could happen for Knight.